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Continued: Bel-Cam's list

*JAIPUR (Japur snippet?): city in Rajasthane province of India, founded in 1128 A.D., formerly the capital city of Rajasthane. An astronomical observatory was built there. However, the Jaipur were also allies of the Mughals (an Indian dynasty from the 16th to the 18th centuries) under Akbar (Admiral Ackbar?), a highly-regarded king. Did he "bring you good fortune?" I haven't found that detail anywhere yet. (1/30/02)

*JAWA: an ancient wall-fortified city (now in ruins) located in the Black Desert region of Jordan on the Arabian Peninsula. The descriptions and sketch recreations look A LOT like Ralph McQuarrie's painting of the Jawa home fortresses in The Illustrated SW Universe book. (9/8/00)

*JOCASTA (Jocasta Nu?): Mother of Oedipus, whom he married to fulfill the oracle that said he'd do so. Anakin certainly loved his mother, so maybe that name stayed around Lucas' head for another charcter. Also, as a Jedi librarian/historian, Jocasta "knew" many things about the archives. (9/17/02)

JUTLAND: another name for Denmark (the peninsula ''juts'' out into the sea) and a place of a battle in World War II. (6/12/00)
+As in the Jundland Wastes are not to be traveled lightly? (6/13/00)
+''A battle''? Jutland was the largest naval engagement in history. It was also the first world war. (6/14/00)

*KASSEL (Spice mines of Kessel?): city in Germany where fairs and industry were being introduced in the 18th century. (10/5/00)

*KETWOL could be "low tek (tech?)" backwards, maybe. (5/3/01)

*KI: Sumerian term for earth. (6/28/00)

+I was watching a great old Sci Fi movie last night, ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' from 1951 and the main character is a man from outer space named Klaatu. This must have been one of George Lucas' favorite movies because towards the end of the film, Klaatu gives a message to his lady friend to deliver to his robot, Gort. The message is ''Klaatu barada nikto!'' The names of 3 of Jabba's guards from Return of the Jedi! (5/22/00)

+The planet ''Corellia'' is a homage too. In Isaac Asimov's book Foundation, there's a planet called Korellia (6/2/00)

*KYOTO (as in Boushh's "Keotay, keeotoh"): Japanese city. (1/14/00)
*KYOTAI KYOTOU would translate in Japanese as "large build/size, leader/magnate/big time robber" (sound anything like Jabba?) (1/17/00)

*MUNDI: another term for world [here there's a painting of Bodhisattva, a Buddhist figure that has many heads that form a cone-shaped design]. (6/28/00)

*NABU (Naboo?): Babylonian god of writing and wisdom. The city of Borsippa was where the cult was centered. The city is now in ruins, and was built by King Nebuchadnezzar. A ziggurat there (stepped temple) is believed to be a smaller version of the "Tower of Babel."
Other details I've found are this: "Now only a large square swamp is located at the site of Nebuchadnezzar's great ziggurat in Babylon. Because Nabu was the god of knowledge and wisdom, the ancient city of Borsippa was looked on as an ancient seat of learning. It is believed that a large library of clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform was once located there. So far the Austrian archaeologists working at the site have not discovered this library, but they have come across a few clay tablets."
+In ROTJ, 3PO says "naboo, acu tak tak" right before the Ewok steals the speeder bike. (2/29/00)

*NEMEDIANS (NEIMODIANS?): In Celtic/Roman history, according to The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology, there was a place called Nemed, where the people (called Nemedians) were defeated and had to pay a yearly tribute. Sorta like when the Trade Federation lost in the Battle of Naboo. (10/15/03)

*At the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA., in an exhibit where he first meets his future wife, Pat, Richard Nixon says something like "Don't laugh, because I'm going to marry you someday." For those who've read the E1 novelization, Anakin says a similar phrase to Padme' in Watto's shop. Does that mean Lucas (or Terry Brooks, the book's writer) intended Anakin/Vader to be like Nixon? A once-great leader who falls due to greed and pride? Remember that Watergate was fresh in people's minds around the time Lucas was writing ANH's script. (6/19/01)

*NUBIAN: Name of an Egyptian dynasty, but I don't remember when. Nubia is a region in southern Egypt, I believe. Don't think they had any hyperdrives in those days, unless aliens really did build the Pyramids. (2/29/00)

+Is it not common knowledge that the Nemodian facial features were based on Republican politicians? Nute Gunray is Newt Gingrich. Lott Dodd is Trent Lott. Their facial likenesses along with the names Newt and Lott make it obvious. I will even go further and speculate that Daultry Dofine is based on Ronald Reagan. The face structure, same initial first and last name and Reagan whisper type speech are dead
giveaways. (12/7/00)
+''Gunray'' is ''Reagan'' backwards? The idea was done on purpose though, so I think it was just too easy. (12/7/00)

*In some African tribes, an OBI is a main hut, but I don't see how that relates to an older Jedi Knight. (2/21/00)
*OBI: a waist cloth for a Japanese kimono, goes along with the samurai look to Jedi robes. (3/11/00)

*PADMA (pronounced either pad-MAH or pad-MAY I believe): means ''lotus center'' in Sanskrit, as in meditation in the lotus position (legs crossed and arms extended down to floor). (6/27/00)

*PANDA (Ponda Baba?): In Brazilian folklore, a sea goddess. Walrusman was an Aqualish, a water alien, after all. *BABA: A Mesopotamian goddess of health and healing. OR...
*BABA: Another name for the evil god, Seth, in Egyptian mythology. It means "father," or "parent." And in the stories, Seth (or Set) loses his hand in a fight. Ponda Baba's a bad guy who loses a limb. OR...
*BABA YAGA (or JAGA): An evil, female witch associated with the life and death cycle, in Slavic and Russian myth. She's the destroyer of life. (3/6/02)

*In the H.G. Wells book The War of the Worlds, his description of the Martians sounds a lot like the probots in Empire. They land in cylindar-shaped pods that create craters that they slowly rise out of. The are 100 feet tall (okay, not quite the same), have octopus-type arms and walk on tripod legs. Their Heat-Ray is close to the laser cannon on a probe droid. And all this was written in the 1890s! (4/3/02)

*QUEEQUEG (Weequay?): Character in the novel Moby Dick, who is a Polynesian sailor/harpooner on the ship Pequod. He also has a heavily suntanned face and has a scalp-knot hair style. Just like the Jabba guard! (3/6/02)

+I'm not sure if this is the origin of the name Qui-Gon Jinn, but there is a 5,000-year old Taoist (natural) art and science called "Qigong"(Chi Kung), that is basically cultivating energy for the body, mind, emotion, and spirit. "Qi" is vital energy and "gong" is skill. That would seem to be a fitting meaning behind master Qui-Gon's name. (3/8/00)

QI (Qui?): Chinese belief of the soul or total being, an unexplainable manifestation that controls the body. Also spelled "chi."

*JINN: In Middle Eastern legend, a demonic being or nature spirit with the power to appear and disappear, as well as to assume human form. Could Qui-Gon be a "genie," merely an energy being (midichlorian?) to bring balance to the Force?
Could Qui-GON Jinn's middle name simply be that he's no longer here, i.e. gone? (2/24/02)
An amendment to JINN (Qui-Gon Jinn): In Islamic mythology, there's a jinni (or genie) named Iblis. He was kind of a fallen angel, who broke a rule and rebelled against the established beliefs. It is sort of like Qui-Gon. (10/30/03)

*RANCOR: deep hatred, enmity, hostility. (1/14/00)

+Add two letters to Ree and rearrange Yees and you have Three Eyes. (4/13/00)
*Ree Yees was meant to be like "3 eyes." (4/14/00)

*SALLUST (Sullust?): Roman historian from 1st century b.c. who wrote during a period of civil struggles, noting the conflict between military leaders Marius and Sulla. Sallust + Sulla = Sullust? (10/11/00)

+I was reading the NTSB's report of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald when I came across a reference to a place called Sault Saint Marie (apparantly there is one in Michigan and one in Ontario, Canada). Also, I was looking up Chuck Taylor in an on-line encyclopedia and ran across an entry for a Charlotte (Lottie) Dod. Saelt Marae and Lott Dodd inspirations? (3/31/01)

*In the film Seven Samurai, a farmer says the line "We must be made to suffer. It is our lot in life." (2/7/00)

*SHAKTI (Shaak Ti): Goddess in Indian mythology and religion. Also referred to a Kali, and one of the many names associated with the goddess is "difficult of approach," which in Sanskrit is "durga;" i.e. Durga the Hutt from SW Expanded Universe fame. (5/8/03)

*SITH: archaic version of the word 'since.' And the Sith have been around "since" when? It's a stretch, as most of these have been, of course. (05/02/02)

*TATAOUINE: town in Tunisia, in northern Africa. In the Berber language, Foum Tataouine means ''mouth of the springs,'' which is its full name. (11/3/00)

+I was trying to find an address in the UK yesterday and found an area of England called Taunton... any connection there? (12/8/00)
+There's a place (castle? province?) in England called Ton Ton. (6/19/01)

+Considering Vader as a Christ figure (which it's impossible to not do now): he died (in the words of Obi-Wan) "from a certain point of view, stayed "dead" within Vader for THREE movies, and then saved the day with his "resurrection." (4/13/00)

*WILLS (Whills?): The history might explain some Force or Jedi aspects. There was a debate in the 7th century about the form of Jesus. Some felt He was made of energy that made him powerful and non-human. A group believed the term "will" was more appropriate than "energy," and two written documents were composed, on the doctrine of the wills (one was one "will," with the other two "wills" ). This led to a great debate in Christianity. Could this be a precursor to the Journal of the Whills from the SW novel, and could it shed light on the Dark Side of the Force idea? This is from Joseph Campbell's Occidental Mythology book. (10/30/03)

*WICKET: a small door or gate within a larger entrance. Wicket W. Warrick was a small creature that opened the Rebels to the Ewoks, like a door to victory. A wicket is also some cricket term. (3/7/00)

*In an Isaac Asimov book (Second Foundation, I think), he occasionally uses the word ''wizard'' as an exclamation, similar to Anakin and Kitster in TPM. (9/6/00)
+My Grandma says that ''wizard!'' was an expression from the '40s. (9/7/00)

Re: Jabba's Skiff Guards

LOGROYS (Logray, Ewok medicine man?): In the story of the Arthurian knights, especially as related to Gawain, Cidegast, the Duke of Logroys, was killed by Gramoflanz, whose family was afraid of magic. Perhaps just seeing the name Logroys and the fact that it has a slight connection to magic gave Lucas an idea for a character name.

ITHER (Ithorian?): Ither is name of a king and knight in Arthurian legend. Could Ither + Arthurian = Ithorian? Maybe, but there's no link to hammerheads that I could determine.

Re: Jabba's Skiff Guards

I just finished the fourth and final book in the Masks of God series by Joseph Campbell, and found a couple more possibilities for name origins.

EISELEY, DR. LOREN (Mos Eisely): he was a scientist who studied geology and the creation of the earth. He used a term, the "Huttonian revolution" (when there's a major change in studies and theories) named after geologist James Hutton. Was the earth once a "wretched hive of scum and villany" in the early days?

DARKINBAD THE BRIGHTDAYLER (Biggs Darklighter?): in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake, a character talks in alliteration of Sinbad the Sailor using various letters, and at the end he goes from Tinbad the Tailor/Jinbad the Jailer/Whinbad the Whaler... to Linbad the Yailer/Xinbad the Phtailer and lastly Darkinbad the Brightdayler. The character is obviously a tad out of his mind, but it sounds a little similar to Luke's childhood friend.
Bright - Dark
Dayler - Lighter
Big Bad - Darkinbad
I don't know...

Re: a reply of a quote

Originally Posted by Rocketboy

After doing a bit of research (internet and my own brain ), I found a bunch of possible name and word origins.

Palpatine - Palatine - of or relating to a palace n 1: any of various important officials in ancient Rome 2: (medieval) the lord of a palatinate who exercised sovereign powers over his lands 3: the most important of the Seven Hills of ancient Rome; supposedly the location of the first settlement and the site of many imperial palaces

I always thought of the word "palpable," meaning something you can touch or feel, or something that's easily perceived or obvious. For Emperor Palpatine, he seems to be the opposite of those definitions, at least before ROJ came out; he's never seen (except on a shrouded hologram in ESB) and certainly isn't so obvious or easily understood.

Maybe a streeeeeeetch...

Originally posted by Jedi Tricks:I thought Palpatine was a reference to the politician in "Taxi Driver" named Palantine.

Emperor: "Now, young Skywalker..."
Luke: "Father! I feel the good in you!"
Vader: "Uh..."
Emperor: "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You must be talkin' to me..."

LORAS TYRELL (Ratts Tyerell?): I was reading the very loooooong first book in the "Song of Ice and Fire" series A Game of Thrones, and there was a character named Lord Loras Tyrell. I thought, I wonder if he'll get eaten by rats, or if that's his nickname. Well, on page 276, this line appears: "...surviving on rats andboot leather while the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne sat outside...." The book is from 1996, so maybe the Lucasfilm designers had read it and were inspired.
BTW, there's also a character named Princess Elia (anagram of Leia, perhaps?)in the book.

PADUANS (Padawan?): In Dante's Comedia, which includes The Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio, there's a consistent plot issue about certain city-states fighting amongst each other. Anyway, the people of Padua (who are called Paduans) were responsible for the downfall of one of these other cities. Just like former-Padawans Obi-Wan and Anakin having parts in the fall of the Republic or Jedi Council, maybe?

TUSCANS (Tusken Raiders?): Just like the Paduans above, the people of Tuscany (called Tuscans) also fought other cities. However, I have not read them refered to as raiders yet.